The Future of Leadership Is Creative —Here’s How to Get There

Hello, hello everyone and welcome to this week's LinkedIn Live, this week's podcast, this week's stream. Wherever you're joining us from, whether on YouTube, whether on Facebook, or whether here on LinkedIn, or on our podcast. This today is the last live stream that we're going to be doing. And we're talking about the future of leadership. That is creative and how we're gonna get you there. Okay, so without further ado, I'm gonna dive right in. But before I do so, in case you're joining me for the first time, my name is Claire Hayek. I'm the CEO, founder and CEO of MSP Team Building. And I'm a certified neuroscience coach and a leadership expert. And I'm here to serve you and add value to you, to all our listeners. And I'm really excited about this one because we're gonna dive deep into neuroscience of creativity and how we could— basically, everybody can tap into creativity. And I'm going to show you how to do that with yourself and with your team. So, why is this really important? The thing is creativity is just not about brainstorming or having this artistic side. People think that that's what creativity is. But It's more than that. It's the focus. It's the cornerstone of solving challenges. Creativity can lead to innovation and helps us as leaders to stay ahead. And basically, with everything that's going on in this world, it's just everything changing so fast. But if we were creative, we can just surf the wave, right? So, we're gonna, like I said, we're gonna explore the neuroscience of creativity. And I'm gonna share with you practical ways you can nurture it and develop it. in yourself and within your team. And also, I'm going to talk about how collaboration can be the key driver to innovation. So, but before we start, okay, before I really dive into the whole subject, let me know in the chat what's the most creative thing your team has done recently or that you've done with your team recently. Excuse me. So, put it in the chat. As you all know, some of you may know or may not know, My conferences are very interactive. I want to feel like you're there with me, so I will be asking you questions. You sharing your comments in the chat keeps it interactive and keeps it relevant to the listeners. So please do participate. And while you're at it, while you answer this question, also let us know where you're joining us from today. I always like to know where you're, you know, tuning in. And last but not least, I'd like to mention that Ophelia from our team is joining us today and supporting this is live, and she will be sharing comments as well in the chat and some links and references and information. Hey, Fi, and really happy for you to join me here today. So yeah, just put it in the chat. I'll be popping in and out of, you know, going in and out of the chat just to check your comments. And if you have any questions along the way, please do put them again in the chat. In the comments. And I will also be addressing these at the end of this session. Always need to hydrate. All right. Keep that water next to you. All right. So, again, so why is creativity the future of leadership? Okay. This is basically the title of this conference. Okay. The thing with that is that Creativity is no longer a nice-to-have, right? Actually, LinkedIn had a recent study about this and said that creativity has consistently been ranked as one of the most in-demand skills in leadership. Can you imagine that? I mean, you know, we're way ahead here, right? So, let's talk about creativity, not just like this thing that is out there, but more as something that is rooted in how your brain actually works. Okay. So, when we understand what's happening up here, okay, we can start using it more effectively, especially as leaders. So first, let's look at the frontal lobe. Okay. It's often called the executive center of the brain. Let me share a little image here of the frontal lobe. So, This is our frontal lobe with the right and the left brain. Okay, it's— think of it as your control tower. It's the maestro leading the orchestra. This is where big ideas happen. It's how you imagine, you strategize, how you plan, and it's also where you can break out of autopilot. So You know, when we have those repetitive thoughts and patterns that kind of hold us back, if you just stop and listen to your thoughts sometimes, it's actually very interesting what you'll find out. There's a lot of patterns and this is the brain firing and wiring these connections and synaptic connections. It's just what it does and it just keeps on reinforcing them, reinforcing those thoughts. So, the frontal lobe lets us step back basically from all these thoughts and these patterns and ask, what if we tried This in a different way. All right, this is what the frontal lobe will help us do. When you're leading a team or, you know, looking at a challenge, this is the part of your brain that's working to find creative solutions, to visualize possible outcomes and see possibilities that aren't necessarily obvious. Okay, so What's really interesting, and you see it here in the image, like I said, there's the right and the left side of the brain. Each one plays a different role. And the cool thing about this is that they also work together. So we're not all 100% in the right or the left brain. We're constantly going back and forth. So put it in the chat if you know what I'm talking about. Did you all know about the right brain and the left brain? Let me know if you do in the chat. Do you know the qualities or specific characteristics of the right brain and the left brain? I'm actually curious to know. I'm just going to go into the chat right now. Hey, Phi, I see Phi has commented. So if you're listening, like I said, just pop in here to the chat and start answering those questions that I'm asking. So let me know if you know about the right brain and the left brain. But here it is if you don't. Okay, so the right brain Typically, we associate it with the dreamer, you know, creative dreamer. It's where your imagination flows, emotional connections come from. It's the part of you that thinks, you know, people call it the outside the box, right? The creative side that sees the bigger picture and comes up with those bold, innovative ideas. On the other side, your left brain is the organizer. It's logical, detail-oriented, and loves to make plans. Don't we love that? Those lists. I'll show you mine. But actually, you'll be very scared if you see mine. I'm sure mine is not worse than your list. But that's your left brain. It's the one that takes those wild ideas, basically can come from the right brain, the creative ideas, and figure out how to make them real. So, we need both sides, right? So, as a leader, you're constantly switching between these 2. You're using your right brain to think creatively and inspire your team and your left brain to create structure and make things happen. All right, so far so good, everyone. All right, let's let's keep going. Now let's talk about. I have another one to to share with you here, and I've shared this before. Let's talk about the brain waves. Okay, this is where neuroscience and creativity really really it really gets interesting. So our brain operates at different speeds throughout the day. When we're stressed or go in a in a go go go go mode, we're in the flight fight or flight brain wave, which is beta three, which is Which is the highest one you see. We're in a high-speed state for quick reactions. Now, there's the beta-3, beta-2, and beta-1. I'm going to cover these very quickly. Beta-3 is fight or flight. It's a bit more than just go, go, go. You're scattered. You're chaotic. You're literally just fleeing or fighting, right? So, I'll give you an example. You're booking, you know, you have to get to a meeting that you're late for on Teams, or you have to drive and drop off your kid, or you have to go pick up your And then you're getting a phone call and then you have this proposal that is due and there's this report that was due 2 days ago and somebody keeps calling you about it. It's kind of a high-stress situation, which is not a normal state to be in. But, you know, most of us do operate from there. And apparently, 70% of us actually live in beta 3 and function in beta 3, which is completely crazy if you think about it. And we want to get out of that, right? So, Knowing that there's a beta three and that state, we're able to lower our beta waves and get into beta two. So beta two, you're probably busy. You know, you're animated. You're excited about something, but you're focused. You're still you're not in a fight or flight mode, but you're right now I'm in beta two. So I'm relaxed. I'm focused, but at the same time, I'm excited and animated. Right? Beta two is very good. Beta-2 is usually where we should be. And beta-1, even better if we can be in beta-1. That's— we're in flow, we're focused. It's kind of like very relaxed, like reading a book, right? But when we really slow down, maybe through mindfulness, maybe through yoga or meditation, or just by taking a walk, we drop into alpha or theta waves. This is where the brain becomes very creative. Basically, it becomes a creativity machine. And these moments, we enter what's often called a flow state. I'm sure you've all heard of flow state. If you've heard of flow state, please put it in the chat, yes or no, about the flow state. This is where ideas come easily. We're focused, clear, and way more innovative. All right, so that's the alpha. And theta waves, typically, you know, when you're really dozing off, you know, you're, you're just like closing your eyes and you're like, oh my God, you know, I'm falling asleep here. That's theta. So we don't want to be in that necessarily in theta waves. We want to be more in alpha, which is where, where the creativity flows. But if you, if you are that relaxed and you're meditating and you do nod off, that means you're, you're slipping into theta waves. But when we want to be creative and we're working and we're in a flow state, um, if you do slip in theta wave, just get yourself back, back up again. Maybe do a couple of squats or go for a walk, drink a glass of water or something. Uh, you do want to get back to the alpha. Okay. So why am I talking about this and why does this matter for actually for leadership here? Let me just remove this here. Here I am. All right. So as a leader, it's simple. Creativity isn't really optional. It's essential. You need to think beyond the obvious, solve problems in new ways, and inspire your team to be the same. So understanding how your brain works gives you a real edge, right? So it'll help you think and act more creatively, even if you're under high-pressure situations. It balances your imagination and logic. It creates a space for your team to innovate by basically being inspired by you, by modeling this mindset, your mindset, and by, for the leader to walk the talk basically. So, when you start working with your brain instead of against it, the results are transformational. And this is not just for you. This is what you need to understand. But for your whole team and your organization and your outside environment, even for your family, your friends, professional or personal situation. So, the best part of it all, and I'm going to drop this here because it's important. I really need to talk to you about our NeuroLeadership and AI Productivity Masterclass. All of this, what I'm talking about, can be learned. And this is what we're gonna tackle on with this masterclass that we're gonna have. It actually, it's happening in January. It's basically, it's gonna teach you how to tap into that power, the power of your brain to lead with clarity, focus, creativity, and confidence. And I'm just gonna ask Fi to drop in the link here with the limited offer that we have right now. And I'm gonna get right back into our conference. But I just wanted to mention this to you because it's really important. If some of you cannot stay till the end, here it is also on screen. So basically, we we're literally giving this away. It's the holidays, and we're in the holiday spirit, and we've dropped the price from $999 to $97. And this is just for this week. And so we're gonna put the link in the chat. So we have this offer for our listeners today, and and again for the holidays. So we do want to share this information with you. Please do share it with your team members if you need to, or with with. Other people that you think might be interested. Okay. I'm gonna leave the QR code here. Or like I said, you can scan the code. But let's move on to our next poll question. Where is it? Here we go. So, I want to know, what do you think is the biggest blocker to creativity in teams? Okay. Is it time constraints, fear of failure, lack of collaboration, or something else? Please again, do Do put it in the chat and I will address this in a second. And for those of you who just heard about the masterclass and the amazing offer we're doing right now, there is a QR code that is basically displayed throughout the whole thing. It says scan me. This QR code will also bring you to that, to the masterclass page for that special offer. And Ophelia also shared it in the chat. I'm just going to go quickly to the chat. See here if any of our listeners commented. Thanks, Fi, for sharing this in the chat. And yes, Philia, totally agree. So, Fi said, I love the flow state. It's an amazing feeling. 100%. And we really try to basically, with my team, to try to be very creative and really tap into that in our meetings. And I'll share— I'm going to share some tools on how to do that. And Ophelia, you also asked a question, isn't left brain more creative? Actually, it's the opposite. It's the right brain. It's not about the left brain being more creative than the right brain or right brain more creative than the left brain. It's just anatomy. It's just the way the brain works. So the brain is more related— right brain is related more to creativity and left brain is more analytical organization. Skills. So, all these skills are very important. But when we're in our creativity, we're tapping more into the right brain. And when we're actually diving in and making our ideas become reality and planning and strategizing, we're in our left brain. So, ideas are great. But if you're not putting them into action, they're worthless. So, the right brain works with the left brain and left brain works with the right brain. So, I hope that clarifies. All right. So, And let me just move on here. What do I got? All right. So, how do we make creativity happen within our organization and team? So, creativity, it's not something that happens in like a little box. Okay. It requires the right environment and leadership approach. So, how can you as a leader nurture creativity in your team? I'm sure many of you are probably wondering like, great. Yeah. But how do we do that? So, I'm going to break this down into very practical and very human, simple ways to stimulate creativity, both for yourself and for your team. Creativity doesn't need to be like this mystical thing that we can't access. It's about setting the right conditions and using the right tools. I'm just checking the time here. Okay. We're all good. All right. So here's one. Creating a psychological safety is important for bold ideas. Let me ask you something. Have you ever been in a meeting where you had a great idea but kept quiet because you were worried it might sound stupid? I'm sure many of you can relate. You're like, yeah, that's kind of crazy. I'm not going to say that. I don't want to sound stupid. Right? So, that's what happens when there's no psychological safety. Right? So, as leaders, we need to create these environments where people feel 100% safe sharing ideas Even the craziest one or the wildest ones. It doesn't matter. Like, it's just no judgment, right? Safe space. So, my advice would be to start by actively listening without judgment. So, when someone shares an idea, respond with curiosity. For instance, you can say, tell me more about how that could work. You know, I like, you know, this idea seems interesting. Tell me how that would work. You know, so, and encourage contributions even if they're not fully developed and perfect. It's not— we're not aiming for perfection here. We're looking for possibilities. All right. So far, so good. Are you all with me? All right. So, another thing you can do to basically foster that creativity is reverse brainstorming. I'm not sure if Some of you know about reverse brainstorming. Do put it in the chat if you do or don't. Yes or no, put it in the chat. So reverse, it's a really cool one. Okay, so instead of brainstorming solutions, brainstorm ways to make the problem actually worse. So probably sounds weird, right? I know it sounds weird, but When you flip the perspective like this, it opens up creative pathways in your brain that you didn't even know existed. Okay? So for example, if you're trying to improve team communication, ask, what are the worst things we could do to create chaos? You see what I mean? And then, the answers to that then will spark fresh unconventional ideas or solutions that then you can just reverse them. And it's a great way to also lighten up the mood and inject humor into the process. Okay. So one is psychological safety. 2 is reverse brainstorming. 3, you can build in a 10-minute thinking time. Okay. So this is like a ritual you could apply and it really works wonders. So for instance, at the start of your next meeting, give everyone 10 minutes to think, silently about a problem that you're going to be tackling on during the session, okay, during your meeting. So, no talking, no distractions, just quiet focused time to let ideas kind of develop. Okay? It sounds really simple but actual research shows that quiet time before brainstorming leads to better ideas. And the reason for this is that it lets people connect with their thoughts before group dynamics take over. And you're just kind of going with everybody's ideas. All right. Last one. The 4th one is diverse, diversity. Okay. A lot of people talk about diversity, diversity, you know, it's good diversity, DEI, et cetera. But why? I want to specifically talk about diverse collaboration. Studies actually consistently show that diverse teams, whether in culture and experience or perspective, produce more innovative ideas. And the reason for this is because different viewpoints challenge us to think in ways we actually wouldn't do on our own. So, it challenges our brain to fire and wire in different ways because otherwise, we're just going to follow the pattern that we always think, right? So, you can as a leader encourage this by intentionally mixing teams for projects. So, pair for instance somebody that is really detail-oriented thinker with somebody that is really a dreamer, very creative and imaginative. Or bring in someone from another department to get fresh eyes on a challenge that you have with your department that that person knows nothing about. So diversity doesn't just make teams richer. It actually makes solutions better. Okay. So again, creativity isn't just about these aha moments. It's about creating the right environment, the right tools and collaboration to get those those creative juices out. Okay. And as a leader, when you can tap into this, you're not just driving better results. You're inspiring your team to think bigger, bolder, and better. Okay. So poll question 2. Does your organization— let me just put this here on the screen. Does your organization have practices in place to encourage creativity? Yes, no, or not sure. Okay, let's put that in the chat. And I'm just gonna go over here and see what are we doing with the chat. I think we have a lot of— Fi, you're doing a great job. Thank you for sharing these links. And we got John here. Hey, John. John Antonucci, thanks for joining. Thank you. Thanks, John. Great content. Claire Hayek, thanks for your comment as well as thanks for sharing. It's my absolute Pleasure. And yes, it is very interesting content and very relevant as we wrap up the year when it comes to leadership, creativity, and where we're heading moving forward. Everything going on with AI and where creativity and innovation is just really thriving. And that we have to get on that boat. Like, we need to actually not even get on the boat. We need to start really driving it and leading it. Yeah. With our teams so we don't fall behind. All right. So finally here, I'm just going to tackle this quickly. How do we create an environment where creativity just flows? It's just happening naturally. So I want to talk to you about what really, really, what it really takes to deliver, to create and deliver a workplace environment that fuels creativity and productivity. And here's a spoiler alert. It's not just about having cool office furniture or giving people beanbags to sit on. I mean, that's great, but it's about understanding how our teams work and setting up the right conditions for ideas to flow. One would be the environment. You know, we talk a lot about the work environment. We have actually, we had a conference about that with an expert on hybrid work and how we can transform our environment at home and make sure that our environment at work if we go into the office as well, is as inspiring and motivating, right? So, please do go under my profile, LinkedIn events, and you can listen to that. It's also on YouTube as well as Facebook. So, when we talk about environment, it's basically creating that environment where people can openly share ideas without fear of judgment or rejection. Remember, we talked about psychological psychological safety, that this is basically a goldmine for creativity. So, open dialogue isn't just a buzzword. Psychological safety isn't just a buzzword. It's essential. So, people need to feel heard, respected, and valued so they can contribute to the best thinking. So, their brain is really firing and wiring and being creative and exploring. It's amazing what the brain can can create, right? So flexible workplaces help with that too. So hybrid work, sometimes if you, you know, having the freedom and establishing the trust that people can work from home or if they really need to be in the office. Think about also like creating the spaces where teams can collaborate with each other. So whether it's facilitating and making it easy for people to join a quick meeting or a chat through Teams or whatever tool you use, or just having those cool office areas that are closed and private where people can just say, hey, let's go in and brainstorm, or let's talk this over. So, providing that space is important. Creativity loves flexibility. So, the more flexible you are, whether it's physical, in physical space or in mindset, the better it is. So, let's not really take this for granted. The one thing that we often unfortunately take for granted is the power of a growth mindset. So, when you help your team or help all think of yourself and listen to your thoughts and you frame your challenges, reframe your challenges as opportunities and failures as lessons, the brain basically is primed for innovation. So, that growth mindset is also very important and shouldn't be taken for granted. Another one, another way would be to break routine things into new things. So monotony, replace monotony with novelty, right? So our brains, and this is no rocket science, okay? Our brains crave novelty. It's why we feel, you know, when we feel excited, we have a burst of energy when we try something new. Even something as simple as taking a different route to work or or just listening to a new style of music or trying to cook something new that you've never done before. We love it. Brain, our brain loves it. So use this to your advantage. And how you can use this is with your day-to-day. You can introduce novelty exposure. So this means that bringing in a guest speaker, rotating team roles for a day, or what about like for instance, hosting brainstorming sessions in a fresh setting, you know, coffee shop vibes maybe, or going for a walk. So, when the brain is doing something new, it starts firing up these connections that can lead to unexpected solutions. And again, do not underestimate that. So, the third one is to promote Downtime. We don't often do that. We are terrible at that. So here's the thing. Your brain isn't designed to be on all the time. Remember beta-3? We talked about beta-3. That is like fight or flight. That is when you're being attacked and you gotta flee for your life. Like, we're running in beta-3. Running in beta-3 is not normal. So we're not supposed to be on all the time. It's like, go, go, go, go, go, right? The brain needs moments of rest. to actually process information and make those creative connections unconsciously. So, this is why some of our best ideas come while we're in the shower or going for a walk. I don't know about you, but a lot of ideas come from these 2 sources, you know, in the shower or going for a walk or just taking a moment to breathe. So, encourage your team to step away from the from their screens and the go, go, go and build within their schedule moments of downtime, whether it's a midday walk or no meetings policy, for instance, one afternoon a week, or simply reminding them that it's okay to take a breather. Rest is where the magic happens. I actually had this conversation with one of my employees and he was sharing with me that sometimes, you know, he's so overwhelmed and he's so busy and then, And his brain is fogged up and he can't focus. But he feels like he has to stay and work because everybody else is working. And what I truly told him is, no, that's the opposite of what I want you to do. When you do feel that your brain is fogging up, you can't focus, then just stop. You're not being effective. Stop. Go do something else. All you need to do is just write, Write the team and say, I'm taking a 1-hour downtime. And it's fine. Just communicate and let them know. And again, the psychological safety and that safe space is important because if you're not— and the flexibility— if you're not giving that to your team members and to yourself, then how are you really contributing to people's productivity, right? You're not. And you're killing creativity and innovation and for your team to be effective. I'm going to fast forward to this last one, humor. Okay. Humor will spark innovation. Just lighten up the mood for God's sakes. Okay. Humor and play aren't just fun. They're proven to reduce stress and boost creative thinking. So when we laugh or engage in fun, playful activities, what happens is that the brain relaxes. Remember, we go down from beta 3 to 2 to 1 and maybe alpha if we're really being creative. And we're most likely to be bold and explore innovative ideas. So, you can start a meeting with a fun icebreaker or share ridiculous memes. Memes are amazing. We love those. We have those once a week on our posts on social media. Share something ridiculous that's maybe relevant to your project or semi-relevant to your project. Or even better, you can incorporate like playful exercises, like gamified brainstorming sessions. Why not? You will be surprised. It's amazing how quickly this can break down barriers and get ideas flowing. So, to wrap up, creativity isn't an accident. It's a strategy. So, by setting up the right environment, embracing novelty, valuing rest, downtown— downtime, and bringing in moments of joy, you can literally create a workplace where creativity just flows. And when you pair this, all of this with neuroscience-based techniques, you're not just getting more ideas. You're getting better ones. And again, I'm going to wrap up with this again. If some of you have joined us later on, this is exactly what we cover in our NeuroLeadership and AI Productivity Masterclass. Practical strategies to boost your creativity, performance, focus, and leadership, as well as incorporate AI tools and insights for productivity. I'm going to put this up again here. Give me one second. So do, if you have to go, just scan this code. And Fi, I'll ask you to share the link again in the chat, please. We are offering this masterclass. It's ridiculous. We're literally giving it away with pleasure, by the way. Instead of $999, we are bringing it down to $97 for a limited offer this week, just before the holidays. Everybody goes off on enjoying the holidays. And this is really just our way to give back and thank you for a wonderful year, for being here, supporting us, and being part of the conversation. So the chat will have the link. And like I said, this is the QR code of the event. And I do have a QR code here that says scan me. You can scan. And here's my last poll question for you. Let me see. Okay. What would help your team become more creative? A, more collaborative opportunities. B, less pressure to perform. And C, clearer leadership support. And finally, D, training or workshops. Do put it in the chat. And I'm going to invite you to put in any questions you have in the chat if you have any questions for me. Otherwise, I'm just gonna go over to the chat quickly here just in case. Yeah, I see a whole bunch of— but there's no questions. So, I'm just gonna wrap up. It's already 12:04. Again, I had so much to share with you today. But don't forget, creativity is a skill that leaders can develop by understanding neuroscience, Encouraging collaboration and creating a safe environment for ideas. The future of leadership is creative people. It is. And your role is to inspire that potential in your teams. I'm going to close with that. And we'll let you know that I will be back live on Restream, whether it's YouTube, like I said, Facebook, any of our social media platforms, or here on LinkedIn. I will be back on January 15th, same time, 11:30 AM EST, and I'm excited to see you and wish you a happy new year. But before I do that, I want to basically again thank you for being our listeners all this year. I think we've done more than 28 LinkedIn Lives, and there's going to be way more next year. So happy holidays to all. And I'm really excited to see what the new year will bring and to see you all and hear your comments. And maybe see you all at the masterclass. I really, really would be very happy to see you there because I know this will change your year and put you, set you up for success for 2025. And God knows so much going on and we need help. We all need help. So we're really happy to be able to provide to you innovative ways for you to just excel and supercharge your leadership in 2025. If you want to know more, You know, want me to share one-pager about this leadership, this creative conference, do put creative in the chat. And otherwise, if you want to know more about the masterclass, please do type masterclass in the chat. And I will leave while I put up here the QR code for the masterclass. So, here we go. Happy holidays. And I will see you on January 15th. Thank you all, and please do take care and be safe. Bye.